Nonprofit Fundraising in the Age of Coronavirus

Nonprofits face a conundrum in times of crisis, and especially during the present pandemic. They rely on gifts for their survival, and indeed might fail if they can’t muster enough financial support—but the people who might normally give to them are suffering economically themselves, which makes them less receptive to solicitations. There’s no easy solution, but to stay in business, nonprofits have to find a way to keep money coming in. The best approach is to continue to make solicitations, but only after first demonstrating empathy and commitment to the people they serve. If you engage in that way, communicating the message that we’re all in this to help one another, you can then invite gifts much more gracefully, and the people you reach out to will be much more likely to respond by opening their wallets.